A full house packed the Osceola High gym on Thursday, and that Life Christian Academy’s Hansel Emmanuel and his overcoming story was one of the main attractions.
Emmanuel, who grew up in the Dominican Republic, was involved in a horrible accident at age six when a cement block wall collapsed on him. The wall pinned him under rubble for more than two hours. When he was finally rescued, doctors were able to save his life, but were forced to amputate his left arm just below the shoulder.
The accident temporarily crushed the active young man’s spirit.
“I couldn’t do anything, I felt helpless. I couldn’t tie my own shoes or get a glass of water,” he said.
But eventually he did learn to do many things for himself. Although he could no longer play his favorite sport of baseball, he learned how to dribble a basketball and eventually fell in love with the sport. Although his father was against him playing sports for fear of getting hurt, Emmanuel wanted to play and his father – a former professional basketball player became his biggest supporter.
After videos were posted on social media of him playing street ball in his hometown of Santo Domingo early last year, he caught the eye of Life Christian Coach Moisés Micael – who convinced him to come to Kissimmee and play at Life Christian Academy.
Arriving in the United States in January 2020, Emmanuel originally enrolled at Central Florida Christian Academy in late January and helped that team to a state title.
This year as a Lion, Emmanuel has gained both national and world-wide fame as YouTube videos have made him a sensation and he has more than 500,000 people following his career on Instagram.
Although he often plays point guard, he can be found under the basket blocking shots, grabbing rebounds and slamming down dunks against bigger players. With his life Christian Academy team not a member of the FHSAA, it has allowed the school to essentially play some of the best teams in state, as well as a national schedule that has added to his notoriety. Young fans often flock to him after games.
College coaches have taken notice, as he has Division I verbal offers from Tennessee State and Bethune-Cookman University.
The soft-spoken Emmanuel said that the accident that altered his life turned out to be a blessing from God.
“He always has a purpose. I am living His mission, what He wants me to do in this life."
That mission has led Emmanuel to playing in front of large crowds like the one that jammed Osceola’s gym on Thursday night. He got off to a slow start in the first quarter, but came alive in the second, scoring six points and adding four blocks, three rebounds and three assists. A steal and driving dunk brought the crowd to their feet, and his three-point shot in the third period pulled his team to within one point. Emmanuel added a late assist and block in the period that gave his team a 43-41 lead at the end of the period.
Although Osceola rallied to win the game, 52-47, its second win over the Lions this season, Emmanuel finished the contest with nine points, seven rebounds, six blocks and four assists.
“He’s not only an inspiration to individuals with handicaps, he’s a great inspiration and role model for everyone and you can see than from the fact that our gym was packed tonight by adults who may never have set foot in Osceola High before,” Kowboys Coach Steve Mason said. “He is an incredible example about how you do not allow circumstances to define who you are. He is a great inspiration to anyone who has been dealt setbacks in their life.”
Sort of lost in the moment was the fact that Osceola won their seventh straight game, improving to 16-4 during Mason’s first season back as head coach. Senior Chris Combs dumped in 21 points – including a key three-pointer in the fourth period – to lead the Kowboys. Ryan Rivera added 11, while Sean Combs added eight.
“Whatever short comings our team may have this year, composure is not one of them. Whenever it comes down to the end of a close game, we have never played with panic or confusion,” Mason said of his team that went to 7-0 in games decided less than 10 points.
Mason also praised the play of center Cory Vega, who had just four points but grabbed 11 rebounds. “He’s really the heart and soul of our team,” Mason said. “When the team is flat in practice, he’s the one that picks everybody up and gets them going. He often gives up so much size underneath but he always holds his own against guys five, six, seven inches taller. He knows just one speed, which is full speed 100 percent of the time.”
The Kowboys will try to improve their district and regional seedings tonight at 7:30 in their regular season home finale against Oak Ridge (16-5, fifth-ranked team in Class 7A), the fifth top 10 ranked team Osceola will play this season.
“We do not schedule to pile up wins, we schedule to get our team ready for the post-season,” Mason added. “Unless you play the best you have no idea how you will hold-up in the playoffs.”
